In a new healthcare consulting report released today by KLAS, Premier was distinguished as the highest overall rated organization. KLASâ€™s 2016 Healthcare Management Consulting report, the first of its kind, rated the performance of healthcare organizations and their solutions by collecting direct feedback from the providers that use them. Premier achieved an overall score of 95.6 â€“ the highest of all companies featured in the report â€“ for healthcare management consulting. In addition, Premier received the highest scores in the subcategories of value-based care and financial improvement. The report noted that Premier services have helped providers achieve improved efficiency, workflows […]

HealthTrustSM has announced the signing of an exclusive agreement with Scripps Health to be its national GPO effective Feb. 1, 2017. In addition to signing for its committed-model contract portfolio, HealthTrust was selected to provide inSight AdvisorySM clinical and spend management solutions. Formerly a MedAssets customer, Scripps is a private, nonprofit delivery system based in San Diego. Scripps serves more than 700,000 patients annually through its network of acute-care hospitals, clinics, medical offices and home health services. Ranked among the top 15 health systems in the U.S. by Truven Health AnalyticsTM, Scripps is a highly decorated IDN, recognized for the […]

Premier has reached an agreement to acquire Innovatix LLC and Essensa Ventures LLC â€“ two health care purchasing organizations â€“ for $325 million. By the way, Premier already owns 50 percent of Innovatix. And interestingly, GNYHA Holdings LLC, an affiliate of the Greater New York Hospital Association, owns the other 50 percent. GNYHA owns 100 percent of Essensa. Both companies are GPOs, but neither serves the acute care market. The transaction, announced Monday, is expected to be completed before the end of 2016, subject to customary closing conditions. In the 12 months ended June 30, 2016, the two acquired companies […]

Gartner, Inc. has released its eighth annual Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25 ranking. And the winner is –Intermountain Healthcare. Said Stephen Meyer, research director at Gartner: “One aspect of being patient and demand driven is already universal in the industry â€” every player in the value chain is aware that there is a patient requiring care at the end. Leading organizations understand satisfying a customer is more than just treating a patient’s disease or condition. Patient expectations of treatment cost, location and convenience are an opportunity that leaders from all industry segments are using to define their supply chains.” Intermountain […]

ORLANDO, Fla. – The American Medical Association (AMA) believes mobile health applications (mHealth apps) and devices that promote safe and effective patient care have the potential to be integrated into everyday practice. During the AMA Interim Meeting, physicians voted to approve a list of principles to guide coverage and payment policies supporting the use of mHealth apps and associated devices that are accurate, effective, safe and secure. Mobile health apps and associated digital health devices, trackers and sensors can vary greatly in functionality, accuracy, safety and effectiveness. While physicians are optimistic about digital health innovation and its potential medical benefits, […]

Although Trumpâ€™s a self-described wildcard, thereâ€™s a growing sense that the relative freedoms and known proclivities of his administration may somehow benefit both healthcare consumers and the interests of drug and device makers. For example, and oddly, even though the president-elect’s rhetoric is often at odds with several long-expressed interests of the drug and device lobbies, many are seeing the election result as potentially favorable. No surprise here. Trump hates the medical-device tax and has promised to repeal it. He has all the ammunition he needs to strike a deal that should favor consumers. And while he hasnâ€™t said much […]

After 25 years in the fold, Northern Arizona Healthcare (NAH), the largest healthcare organization in its region, has moved on from Intalere (formerly Amerinet) and partnered with Premier. The agreement includes access to Premierâ€™s group purchasing organization (GPO), integrated supply analytics and expense reduction performance services. Employing 3,000 healthcare professionals across two hospitals and multiple ambulatory clinics, surgery and treatment centers, NAH chose to collaborate with Premier based on its approach to total cost management and quality improvement. â€śNAH is excited about partnering with an industry-leading organization like Premier,â€ť said Karan Sangha, system director of supply chain, NAH. â€śPremierâ€™s scope, […]

UPS (NYSE:UPS) has entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Marken, a global provider of supply chain solutions to the life sciences industry. The transaction, which provides UPS with growth opportunities across the life sciences customer base, is expected to close by Dec. 31, subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Clinical trials require strict regulatory compliance, streamlined logistics services and global reach. Marken operates a global network of clinical supply chain services to meet the increasingly complex demands of its clients. The acquisition of Marken follows multiple UPS acquisitions that have […]

Hospital safety breakdowns, including patient injuries, accidents and infections, kill over 200,000 Americans each year, making these errors the third leading cause of death in the U.S. But not all hospitals are alike. The Leapfrog Group today announced its Fall 2016 release of the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a program which assigns A, B, C, D and F letter grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals bi-annually and is the gold standard measure of patient safety in the United States. Of the 2,633 hospitals evaluated, 844 earned an “A,” 658 earned a “B,” 954 earned a “C,” 157 earned a […]

HealthTrust has announced it has signed an agreement with Steward Health Care LLC. Formerly with Premier, HealthTrust was selected by Steward for its spend management solutions. An emphasis on immediate contract value was cited as its primary reason for the switch â€“a common refrain these days. The agreement, which is effective December 1, 2016, also contemplates Stewardâ€™s utilization of HealthTrust’s expertise in custom sourcing, purchased services, item master services and spend analytics, as well as targeted savings opportunities in non-traditional spend categories such as facilities management and energy. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Steward is an integrated, community-based health system with […]

FedExâ€™s 3PL unit, called Genco, just opened a 1.1 million square foot facility in Memphis and a 400,000 square foot building in Milton, Ontario –both warehouses are dedicated to the needs of small and medium-sized healthcare manufacturers. The model allows multiple manufacturers to operate alongside each other in the same warehouse and use a shared technology platform supporting network optimization, in/out fulfillment, reverse logistics, cold-chain packaging, transport management â€“even kitting and relabeling. For small and medium-sized manufacturers, itâ€™s a way to compete with the big boys, as itâ€™s the same kind of fulfillment capability typically reserved for only the largest […]

UPMC is launching the second phase of a new model of nursing home care this month. The way participating facilities will be paid will change dramatically. The project, Reduce Avoidable Hospitalizations using Evidence-based Interventions for Nursing Facilities in western Pennsylvania (RAVEN), is supported by a $20 million grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The first phase of the project, launched in 2012, had by its third year reduced avoidable hospitalizations by nearly 25 percent and potentially avoidable ER visits by more than 40 percent, according to CMS. Phase 2 of RAVEN will apply the new payment model […]

So, Iâ€™m sitting on a plane yesterday half-listening to the same old pre-takeoff announcements. Once again, I logged the fact that this particular flight was â€śdesignatedâ€ť as non smoking. Per usual, cell phones, lap tops and other communication devices were ordered into â€śairplane mode,â€ť and I waited for what I assumed would be the latest announcement concerning Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 (i.e. that owners are required to turn them off completely). But thatâ€™s not what the flight attendant said. Instead, she made it very clear that Note 7sÂ were no longer allowed on the plane, adding that if anyone had […]

According to a statement issued yesterday, Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives have signed a letter of intent to explore a possible merger. If it happens, it would create a healthcare behemoth serving 12 million patients annually through more than 500 hospitals, clinics and care centers. Quick Facts: Combined annual revenue could exceed $28 billion. Dignity Health employs 62,000 people and has 9,000 physicians. Catholic Health has 4,300 doctors and clinicians, and 100,000 employees. San Francisco-based Dignity Health operates 36 hospitals throughout California, Arizona and Nevada. Catholic Health Initiatives, based in Englewood, Colorado, has 103 hospitals in 18 states. There […]

Mark Twain was in London in 1897 as part of a global speaking tour. With big time debts in the U.S., Twain had hoped to earn enough money to pay them off. While he was there, a rumor started that he was seriously ill. It was followed by one that said he was dead. An American newspaper even printed his obituary. Regardless, when confronted by a reporter with the story, Twain was reputed to have said: â€śThe reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.â€ť When it was announced last week that Vizient lost the Texas Purchasing Coalition (TPC) to […]